Who You Are
by Rogue Ranger
Summary: Hunter has learned a lot since the day he tried to kill Sensei. But, as he prepares to confess his feelings to the ninja master's son, Lothor appears with other plans, ones that involve the death of Cam's father. Hunter/Cam


_**Summary:** Hunter has learned a lot since the day he tried to kill Sensei. But, as he prepares to confess his feelings to the ninja master's son, Lothor appears with other plans, ones that involve the death of Cam's father._

_Special thanks to **Rebel Paisley** for her help with parts of this story!  
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><p><strong>Who You Are<strong>

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><p>The first time Hunter met Cam the green-clad geek was his prisoner, an obstacle between the thunder ninja and his prize: Sensei Watanabe. He had been so close to killing the guinea pig, to fulfilling his vengeance by taking revenge on the sensei he and his brother thought had killed their parents. He was sure that, if he just followed through, he'd feel some sense of satisfaction, of closure.<p>

But, somewhere between learning that it was Lothor who had truly killed his parents and learning to work with and even trust his teammates, his friends, the need for revenge faded into just a sense of duty and shared purpose with his fellow rangers. And…as hard as it was for Hunter to fathom sometimes, he was actually okay with that.

A few weeks ago, he thought he might lose that sense of trust when he revealed that he had never given Cam all the fragments of the Gem of Souls that were left from that fateful day on the Mountain of Lost Ninjas when he had nearly killed Cam's father. He had lied to his friends…to Cam especially. And he had expected anger from the tech as he looked up from what had once been used as a weapon. After all, the crimson ranger had once again betrayed Cam, but…the samurai ranger was at most disappointed and at least _forgiving_.

And, at the end of the day, that secret had nearly saved the other ninja students.

There was a reason that Hunter felt so personally connected to what Cam thought of him. As pathetic as it sounded in his head, the crimson ranger was in love with the tech. It was not by choice, of course, but he had already tried to change his feelings and he had failed miserably. The worst part, the absolute kicker, was that he genuinely liked being in love with Cam, with that sarcastic nerd who could throw down better than any of the other rangers.

The only downside was the burden of telling the samurai how he felt. It was a necessity, of course, as he had promised never to lie or keep secrets from Cam again after the whole Gem of Souls mess. And, if nothing else redeemed him, Hunter was a man of his word.

That's why he had been the one to enter Ninja Ops when he did, the first to see the smashed walls and broken equipment, and the first to see what would haunt his memory forever.

The crimson ranger's first thought was actually how upset Cam would be. The tech loved all his gadgets and gizmos, not to mention the whole computer network setup that the thunder ninja wouldn't even begin to try to understand. But, it was what was beyond the debris in the middle of the room that froze Hunter in his tracks and froze the blood in his veins.

Cam was kneeling over an older man in gray sensei robes, trying to stop blood pouring from what looked like a burn in the center of his chest. Standing over the two was Lothor.

Seeing the evil space ninja alone, without an oversized alien or his obnoxious nieces doing his dirty work for him, should have been what captivated Hunter's attention, but instead he couldn't take his eyes off Cam's face. That mixture of pain, sadness and determination he'd seen only once before…when he'd kidnapped Sensei.

Without thinking, Hunter morphed. It was second nature to him by now, as was knowing to call for the others before Cam could even open his mouth to speak.

"Might as well make it a party," Lothor chuckled, that annoying grin of his plastered to his face like a part of his mask.

Time seemed to slow down as the others streaked into Ninja Ops and Shane, Tori and Dustin knelt down to check on the injured man, calling out, "Sensei!"

"You're human," Shane gasped.

"Lothor's energy blast reversed the transmutation caused by his original attack that left me as a guinea pig," the man explained from the ground. Despite the obvious struggle to breathe, he was as calm as he'd ever been in the past months that Hunter had called him his Sensei. Even as a guinea pig, the crimson ranger had come to respect the ninja master that he'd once tried to kill.

"I'm trying to stop the bleeding," Cam, the ever-focused professional, told his teammates. "Lothor has my—has my mom's amulet." He choked on the words, revealing something that he was trying to bury under his layers of control, but Hunter could still see it. He was afraid to lose his only parent. Having lost his own adopted parents Hunter could understand what was behind those eyes. The blond had needed to be strong for his brother, but Cam needed to be strong for the whole team, for the whole world really.

"Where's your horde of kelzaks to protect you?" Shane snarled, an uncharacteristically sharp edge to his tone.

"I don't need them," Lothor replied dismissively. "Besides, this was between Kanoi and me. And now it seems it's finished." He turned to leave, dusting off his hands.

"We're not gonna let you leave," Blake warned as the others moved to step between Lothor and the exit.

"And who's going to stop me?" Lothor mused, grinning.

"We are," Hunter announced, nodding to Shane who, in turn, nodded to the others and together the remaining rangers morphed.

Lothor continued to look bemused. "You're right. It seems my business here isn't complete; the Power Rangers are still alive."

At first, the evil space ninja seemed to shrug, but his shoulder movement quickly became a spin. He raised both hands and blasts of purple energy shot out of his palms, sending the five rangers in front of him flying backward, where each color collided with various large and sometimes sharp debris. Had they not already been morphed, the blast would undoubtedly have left the ninjas in the same state as their sensei.

"Dude, you're gonna have to do better than that," Dustin mocked, clutching his side as he stood before diving toward the space ninja.

Lothor jumped aside effortlessly, sending another purple beam to blast both Dustin and Shane in one go. The next sent Tori crashing straight through a chunk of what must have been part of the ceiling at one point.

Hunter pulled out his crimson blaster. Normally he'd never consider opening fire inside Ninja Ops, but the place was trashed as is and a feeling was building inside the crimson ranger, a feeling that perhaps the time for revenge had finally come.

But Lothor sent Hunter's own blast right back at the two thunder ninjas, sending them both crashing against a computer panel, which exploded on contact.

"You should have been destroyed all those years ago," Cam seethed and Hunter shook off the broken circuit boards in time to see the tech glaring up from the floor.

"Don't think I forgot your role in my exile," Lothor quipped, turning toward the samurai and raising his arms. "It's payback time, nephew."

"Kiya," Sensei called, his voice almost a whisper, "it does not have to be like this. You can choose a different path. Leave my son and the other rangers. I am dying. Your revenge is fulfilled."

"Dying?" Dustin repeated numbly, looking to Cam for confirmation or denial, but the tech said nothing. He never took his eyes off Lothor.

"It's Lothor now, _brother_," the space ninja snapped, "and it's only fitting that I finish what I started." He stared directly at Cam, who was unmorphed and, without his amulet, unable to morph and protect himself form the purple glow forming in the space ninja's palms.

Hunter threw the remaining debris off himself and streaked between Lothor and Cam, pointing his blaster directly at the space ninja's chest. This was the man truly responsible for killing his parents, and, yes, now it was time for revenge. That stupid grin would finally leave Lothor's face…forever. He was about to fire on the space ninja, who looked completely carefree despite being outnumbered, when he felt an arm pushing him aside.

"Lothor's right," Cam's voice said as Hunter turned to see the tech standing by his side. "This is over."

The crimson ranger didn't recognize the look in the samurai's eyes at first; it was so foreign to the Cam he knew. It was pure hatred and contempt. There was no forgiveness for the tech's uncle as there had been for the thunder ninja.

That was when Hunter noticed what the green ranger was holding. Cam pressed down hard on a small device in his hand and, in an instant, a green glow enveloped Lothor, burning out from the Samurai Amulet in the space ninja's possession.

"Gah!" Lothor shrieked, collapsing to his knees.

"I was afraid one day my mother's amulet might fall into the wrong hands," Cam explained in an eerily cold tone as he stood over the glowing space ninja, "so I added an overload option. At its current setting, it will burn out completely, but…" He swallowed. "You won't be around that long."

The gasps of shock from the other rangers wasn't surprising. What was surprising was what Hunter felt. He didn't feel the satisfaction he thought for certain he'd feel knowing the man who was responsible for both the death of his parents and possibly Cam's parent was finally meeting his well-earned fate. No, all those thoughts of revenge seemed to have suddenly left him with only a feeling of pain, of anguish over the loss of the Cam he thought he knew. It was an infuriating sensation that he tried to brush aside, but his stubborn eyes never left the green ranger's face.

Was that what _he _had looked like as he held the fate of Lothor's brother in his hands?

"Son, this is not what your mother would have…" Sensei whispered from the floor, his voice trailing off, half drown out by the sound of Lothor's screams of agony.

"Dad, he has to be stopped," Cam growled, anger so palpable in his voice. This was a new Cam, a changed Cam and his father must have sensed this too.

"Do not become like him," Sensei choked out. "Do not…" And then his eyes rolled back into his head and he stopped breathing.

Cam fell to his knees, checking his father's pulse as Tori asked, "Cam, is he…?"

Hunter looked from the still form of Sensei to the writhing body of Lothor. He should be angry, even if he couldn't feel satisfaction at the moment. It's just… "Cam," he heard himself call, almost like it was someone else's voice. "Turn it off." His words held such a finality to them that he wondered for a moment if he were somehow still under Lothor's control. But it all felt so…wrong.

Cam looked up at the blond, his eyes red and tear stained. The anger that had overcome and changed him had not consumed him after all.

Hunter placed a hand on the tech's shoulder. "This isn't you."

"What makes you think he doesn't deserve this after all he's done?" Cam snapped, his fingers leaving his father's neck. "How do you know this isn't the right thing to do?"

"I don't," Hunter admitted, "but I know this isn't the Cam I…"

"You what?" the tech asked. "You thought you knew? I'm not as—"

"I love," Hunter interrupted. The words felt so much easier to say than he thought they would have.

"Love?" Cam repeated blankly as the others stared at the crimson ranger.

"Before you say anything, I do have a heart after all," the thunder ninja said as he reached out and took the device from the green ranger.

"I…" Cam began before shaking off the stun effect from the blond's words. "Now's not the time for this, Hunter. You don't even know how it works." He reached for the device, but the crimson ranger pulled it away.

"I want to learn," Hunter replied in a quiet tone.

And it was true. There was so much he wanted to learn, but Cam was right. Now wasn't the time. So, he held out the device. It was Cam's call now.

The tech stared at Hunter for a moment before glancing down at his father. He then forcefully grabbed the device from Hunter and, without a word, adjusted the device.

Instantly, Lothor fell to the ground as the once green flames were replaced with a foul black smoke.

The others covered their mouths, but Blake asked, "Is he…dead?"

"Forget him," Shane interrupted. "How's Sensei?"

Cam just looked at the red ranger and shook his head. There was no need for words. Sensei was dead.

"No…" Tori gasped, falling to Sensei's side. She had her arms around Dustin for support, but only ended up pulling the yellow ranger down with her.

Hunter stared at the others as they huddled around their sensei and he felt suddenly awkward and out of place. He had just confessed his love to Cam, but it was lost in the moment. The man responsible for the death of his parents was dead, but so was the man he'd falsely accused. Next to that, his ridiculous crush felt insignificant.

He bent over Lothor's still smoldering form and retrieved the Samurai Amulet. It was hot to the touch and would have undoubtedly burned his hands were they bare. He thought he heard the space ninja groan in pain, but it could have been one of the many broken pieces of Ninja Ops ready to collapse.

"Here," he said, handing Cam the amulet by its necklace. "Careful, it's hot."

The green ranger took the amulet without a word. They were both orphans now. Nothing more needed to be said except…one thing. But the crimson ranger knew he'd have to wait for that.

Cam lowered the Samurai Amulet, placing it gently on his father's chest. "I'm sorry I didn't always listen to you," he whispered to Sensei's lifeless body. "Thank you for…believing in me. Tell mom…I love her."

"I can't believe…he's gone," Shane whispered.

"Me neither," Dustin agreed. "It like…can't be true."

"He was the best teacher I…any of us ever had," Tori added.

"Yeah, he was one strict guinea pig," Blake mumbled, "but one all around awesome sensei."

The others nodded in agreement and Hunter felt like he should say something. So, he went with the first thing that came to mind. It had always been on his mind, every single day. "I'm sorry I tried to kill him that day in the cave. Had I known…Had I known who he really was…what kind of a teacher…what kind of a man…" He looked at Cam and was relieved to find forgiveness in his brown eyes.

The six rangers stared at their sensei for what could have been seconds or an eternity. Time seemed to have lost all meaning until…

Suddenly the Samurai Amulet began to glow.

"Cam," Tori called, alarm in her voice.

Cam reached for the device he had been holding. "It's not me," he said, examining the device. "I don't know what's wrong." He reached for the amulet atop his father's chest, but a spark of green energy knocked his hand away.

"I'll grab it," Dustin offered, reaching out with his gloved hands, but he was met with a wall of green energy that seemed to flow and spark around Sensei's body.

"We have to do something," Shane insisted.

But, before Cam could even shout something like, _I'm thinking of a plan_, the glowing grew so bright that the others were forced to shield their eyes or turn away. It consumed everything, spreading out from Sensei's body and filling the room until…it was gone.

Everyone was still for a moment, blinking heavily as their eyes readjusted to the darkened room.

As their vision cleared, Sensei's body was still on the ground, not a charred mark on it. Cam reached for the amulet, ever so carefully touching first one finger then another against its surface. "It's cool," he informed the others before gasping.

Cam wasn't the only one caught off guard by the hand that wrapped around his own, the Samurai Amulet still in the tech's palm.

It was Sensei's hand clasped around his son's and, as his chest began to rise and fall, the ninja master opened his eyes and smiled up at his son.

"How…?" Cam stammered.

Sensei smiled, an unshakable confidence about him that never left even after death. "Remember when you said that you felt a part of your mother was always with you so long as you possessed her amulet?" Sensei asked.

Cam simply nodded in response.

"The warmth you felt from the amulet in the past when you were content, the cold that warned you of danger," Sensei explained, "those were more than just the amulet itself."

"She…she lives on in the amulet?" Cam asked, surprise and confusion still haunting his voice.

"In a way, yes," Sensei replied. "The amulet may have healed me, but Miko—your mother—saved my life."

There were cheers all around and a smile that never left the green ranger's face. "So, how do you feel?" Cam asked, checking his father's injury.

"A little sore, but nothing some training and meditation will not remedy," Sensei replied, reaching out for his son's hand to help him up.

"Sensei, we thought…" Tori began before stopping herself. "We're glad you're okay."

"Yeah," Dustin agreed, "And Lothor's finally…" He trailed off as he looked around.

The other's followed the yellow ranger's gaze.

"Where's Lothor?" Shane asked.

"Yeah, he was right there," Blake added, gesturing to an empty patch in the debris.

"Lothor will be back," Sensei declared, "but we will be ready for him." He turned to Cam. "I am proud of you, son. It takes greater strength _not_ to give into vengeance."

The samurai ranger looked at Hunter. "I guess it's just not who I am."

While the other rangers exchanged hugs and laughs with their newly restored and now fully human sensei, Cam stepped aside to face Hunter.

The blond demorphed so he could face the green ranger eye to eye.

"Did you mean it?" Cam asked, the familiar no-BS Cam back and ready to go.

"Look, I know we haven't always gotten along," Hunter began, "but what I feel for you…It's real."

Cam stared at him for a while before replying, "I…experience similar feelings for you. I mean…I love you too." He blushed as he said this. "I never told you because…honestly, I thought it would go to your head."

The thunder ninja chuckled. "You know me too well."

"And apparently you know me better than I know myself," the tech commented, quickly adding, "And don't let that go to your head either." He sighed as Hunter shrugged. "When I said you don't know how it works, I wasn't just talking about the overload transmitter. I was talking about…love. Hunter, you can't possibly know the first thing about love…real love."

Hunter smiled, a smirk really. "I know. I'm not as dumb as I look. And I meant what I said. I want to learn. How to love, that is."

Cam grinned back at the blond. "I already know it'll be hard to teach you anything…but…I still think it's worth it." He took Hunter's hand in his. "But first," he announced, "we have a lot of work to do to get Ninja Ops up and running again. Lothor won't rest and neither will we."

"That's the Cam I know and love," Hunter said with a crooked smile.

The look on the samurai's face said, _Not now_. This was the Cam Hunter knew. This was the Cam he loved. They may have had their differences in the past, but, in the end, the past didn't matter any more than it mattered that he had once tried to kill the green ranger's father. Lothor had been so obsessed with the past and paying back his brother and nephew for whatever he felt they'd done to him that it consumed his very being, turning him into a murderer and a monster. Sure, they'd find Lothor and hopefully defeat him, but, in the end, vengeance and revenge meant nothing. All that mattered was what they'd do next and, most of all, who they were.

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><p><strong>The End<strong>


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